"We Thank Thee O God for a Prophet"

I just wanted to say how lucky I feel to have lived during the time of this wonderful prophet. I was shocked when I heard the news of his passing last night. It caught me off guard, though we all knew it was forth coming. I've been a little emotional today, as I've read articles about his life and tonight for FHE, Jon and I watched a 33 minute video about President Hinckley. As I reflect on my memories of him I will always remember his kind sweet smile. I loved his sense of humor and felt the love he had for each of us as members of the church. He was an amazing example of what every spouse should be. He loved his dear Marjorie and I am happy that he is with her again. Jon said to me last night, imagine the reception he is receiving. I'm sure he was over joyed to be reunited with his dear wife. I will miss his testimony and talks. I think I could have listened to him speak for hours. He will be greatly missed by all who have been blessed to know him or to have been blessed by his words and counsel. I loved the power with which he bore his testimony. There was never any doubt that he knew the church was true. He was a wonderful leader and example to all. He influnced many and blessed many. I love the way he was able to tell the world about our religion and beliefs to help them have a better understanding of who we are as a religion. I will miss President Hinckley, but I know he is in a better place, and where he needs to be now. I look forward to the day I can see him again. "Til we meet again"

Brrrrr

It's been a few weeks since I made my last post. Not too much has happened in the past two weeks, but we are doing well. It has been exceptionally cold here. I have never felt so cold in my life. I thought Bozeman was cold, but it gets much colder here in Mankato. It's all that wind we get. Last Friday we had a dangerous weather warning for wind chill temperatures down to negative 40 degrees. Needless to say we decided to stay home and spend the evening together. Luckily it has warmed up the last few days to a high of 31 degrees. You know you live in Minnesota when you get excited for 30 degree weather, because it actually feels warm. Most days haven't been as cold as last Friday was, but we were in the single digits for about a week and most days the wind chill was in the negatives. I would go to the store and just walking from the store to the car, my hands would start to hurt, it was so cold. I can't believe I live somewhere that gets this cold. I hate cold and winter. I told Jon, each time we move, we move somewhere that is colder than the last place. Right about now, Las Vegas is sounding pretty good. Can we move next door to you Cam? Other than the extreme freezing temperatures, we are doing well. I hope the rest of you are staying warmer than we are. We miss you all!

Wisdom Teeth

We got home last Tuesday and Thursday Jon went in to have his wisdom teeth pulled. I wasn't sure how he would be, this was his first time ever under anesthesia and I thought it would be his first time ever taking narcotics. Jon did just fine coming out from surgery and he never took the narcotics. He hasn't had too much pain, so he stuck with the Ibuprofen instead. We did a lot of relaxing last weekend, but we did get some work done. Because Jon didn't take the narcotics, he didn't sleep much, so he was able to get some things ready for school. We are glad to be back home. Classes started today for the new semester, so Jon will stay busy with work and I am still enjoying being home. I'm struggling with getting up early again to teach seminary, but hopefully I'll get back on schedule. We are excited for this new year and hope all of you have a wonderful 2008.

A night on the Town

While we were in Utah, my parent's took the three of us kids with our spouses/significant other out to dinner at Biagi's. We dressed up in our formals and had a wonderful dinner and fun evening together.

Dad & Mom

(Randy & Rosa)

Nick & Chante

Nicole & Scott

Tara & Jon

Utah

We flew to Utah on December 27th to spend the rest of our vacation with my family. It was much quieter at my parent's house, which was wonderful. Friday the 28th was a fun day. We got to see our friends Adam and Marisa from Bozeman for a couple of hours. Unfortunately it wasn't longer than that, but it was so good to see them. We also had a Reed family Christmas party that evening. We didn't have great attendance due to the weather, but those of us who were there had a good time. I got sick that evening which changed the rest of our stay. Jon ended up getting sick too, with a cold Saturday evening. Both of us were under the weather for several days. We spent a fun filled New Years Eve with Mom & Dad, Nicole & Scott, and Jon's sister Heather. Four of the seven of us didn't feel well that night, so we didn't have a wild party. Heather left around 10:00 and Mom went to bed at 11:00. The rest of us stayed up until midnight, although Jon and I wished we'd gone to bed. We just didn't feel very well. Jon got better much quicker than I did. I ended up getting a sinus infection, but luckily it wasn't as bad as others I've had. I got on an antibiotic and started feeling better after a few days. Once we both felt better, we tried to get everything in that we had wanted to do. We watched movies, played games, went out to eat several times, went shopping (just the girls), played the wii and had fun spending time with family. We also got to meet Nick's girlfriend Chante. We'd heard so much about her, and how wonderful she is, so it was fun to finally meet her. She fits right in with our family. We had a great time with both families. It was hard for me to say good-bye to my family. I love living in Mankato, it's just hard living so far from family.

Harper's

The Harper Family

Josh, Ben, Brent, Jon, Jeff, Daniel

Heather, Kathy, Jenn

The seven Harper kids. Their last Christmas at home.

Christmas Eve

Ashley, Austin, Alli, Dustin and Makenzie dressed in their pj's.

They were so excited for Santa to come.

Jon with Braden, Austin and Asa, waiting for

the Christmas Eve program to begin.

The actors for the Nativity.

Christmas Update

It's been a while since I last posted. We have been busy and we were out of town for the holidays. Things have been a little busy since we've been home and now I finally have time to get to the blog. We spent Christmas in California with Jon's family. Thankfully, we had four days to rest and relax before the rest of the siblings arrived with their kids. We love our nieces and nephews, but it gets a little crazy and loud when all nine are staying in the same house with 13 adults. Yes, there were 22 of us staying in one house for five days. We had a great time, and everyone got a long for the most part. Christmas Eve was quite the event. The kids had so much energy, they were literally bouncing off the walls with excitement knowing Santa would be coming. It was a little overwhelming, but a lot fun seeing their excitement. Wouldn't it be fun if we could get that excited about Christmas every year? Oh wait, Jon does get that excited every year. He didn't show the usual excitement this year that he has in the past. He wasn't feeling too well and with all the kids, he just couldn't compete. Christmas morning was one big party of opening presents. It was a little crazy and there were presents and wrapping paper everywhere. The kids had a blast playing all day with their cousins and their new toys. The adults relaxed, played games and took naps. We had a great time in California, it was the last Christmas Jon's family will have in their house. His parents are hoping to sell the house this year, so it was wonderful that everyone was able to make it home for Christmas. Jon's mom said she couldn't remember the last time she had all seven of her kids home for Christmas. This year she had all her kids plus 13 more for Christmas.